Me and My Shadow

shadow

I’ve had an affair with makeup for as long as I could bat an eyelash. I begged for my older sister’s ’80s eye glitter as a kid and covertly applied pink Mary Kay eye shadow at school in fourth grade. I started wearing makeup daily in eighth grade, and I remember my first purchase: a palette of Maybelline browns (a compromise with Mom).

But recently, I was wearing the bare minimum when my boyfriend told me it was his favorite look. “I’m barely wearing anything!” I protested. “Yes, you look beautiful,” he said.

I gave this a lot of thought. I can’t and won’t dump my rock ’n’ roll shades of deep purple, olive green, or blue-green with navy liner. I’ll never cheat on my L’Oréal Voluminous mascara. But summer is the perfect time to lighten up, and I love the challenge: Find light, natural shades without losing me and my glam shadow.

Luckily for all of us, sheer, shimmery shades are extremely hot this spring and summer, and they’re definitely not boring. After much soul- and shade-searching, click through a slide show for some of my picks.